HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

noth·ing

(nŭthĭng)

pron.

1. No thing; not anything: The box contained nothing. I've heard nothing about it.

2. No part; no portion: Nothing remains of the old house but the cellar hole.

3. One of no consequence, significance, or interest: The new nonsmoking policy is nothing to me.

1. Something that has no existence.

2. Something that has no quantitative value; zero: a score of two to nothing.

3. One that has no substance or importance; a nonentity: "A nothing is a dreadful thing to hold onto" (Edna O'Brien).

adj.

Insignificant or worthless: "the utterly nothing role of a wealthy suitor" (Bosley Crowther).

adv.

In no way or degree; not at all: She looks nothing like her sister.

Idioms:

for nothing

1. Free of charge.

2. To no avail: all that trouble for nothing.

3. For no reason: fired him for nothing.

in nothing flat

In very little time; very quickly.

nothing doing Informal

Certainly not.

nothing for it

Nothing else to be done; no alternative: "There is nothing for it but to wait for the end" (Samuel Beckett).

[Middle English, from Old English nāthing : nā, no; see NO² + thing, thing; see THING.]

Usage Note: According to the traditional rule, nothing should always be treated as a singular, even when followed by an exception phrase containing a plural noun: Nothing except your fears stands (not stand) in your way. Nothing but roses meets (not meet) the eye. · But there are certain contexts in which nothing but sounds quite natural with a plural verb and should not be considered inappropriate. In these sentences, constructions like nothing but function much like an adverb meaning "only," in a pattern similar to one seen in none but: "Sometimes, for a couple of hours together, there were almost no houses; there were nothing but woods and rivers and lakes and horizons adorned with bright-looking mountains" (Henry James). Note that the construction is sometimes used in the predicate following a form of the verb be to emphasize equivalence with the subject, even when plural: "Years of selective breeding have produced turkeys that are nothing but cooking pouches with legs" (Garrison Keillor). See Usage Note at none.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products